


The Gift Bag

by jgjbanker



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:15:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29477565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jgjbanker/pseuds/jgjbanker
Summary: Matt and Sylvie both have other people in their lives now.  What will that mean for a future for the two of them?
Relationships: Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey
Comments: 15
Kudos: 66





	The Gift Bag

**Author's Note:**

> This is a one shot starting at the end of 9X06. I know this won't be the way it will go, but we can always wish, can't we?
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The Gift Bag

Matthew Casey reread the paragraph on the incident report for the fourth time before throwing his pen on his desk in frustration. Leaning back in his chair, he let his hands find the back of his head as he looked at the ceiling, letting out a sigh. The past few weeks had definitely not gone according to plan.

He had been giving Sylvie space as she had asked, when Sydney McMillan practically threw herself at him. Not that he minded, of course. Sydney was beautiful and fun, but as soon as Brett starting talking to him again, he ended things with Sydney. He wanted Sylvie Brett…and anyone else he was just going to be passing time with, and it wasn’t fair to Sydney to keep doing that.

But, because Sylvie had seen Sydney and him together, she had decided to call Greg Granger from 40 and accept his invitation to dinner after last shift. That news, which Stella had accidently let slip, had caused him to spend the last 48 hours off trying to figure out what he could do to convince Sylvie he only wanted her. 

Now with both of them back at shift, he had purposefully stayed in his quarters all morning. He didn’t want to see Brett smiling and happy if her date had gone well. By the same token, he didn’t want to see her sad either. It was definitely a conundrum, because what he wanted most was for Sylvie to be happy, whether it was with him or someone else. In his heart, he just preferred it to be him.

During the joint calls that he and Brett were on, he made a point of not catching Brett’s gaze when he hopped out of his vehicle as he normally did. Instead, he went straight to Boden to work on a plan of attack.

__________________

When all of 51 returned to firehouse from a joint call that evening, Brett let everyone exit their vehicles and move inside before she got out of the ambulance. Something was going on with Matt, and she didn’t know what it was. Not that it was necessarily her concern anymore, since he was with Sydney, but she did want them to find the ground to become friends again. The way he was ignoring her was not like him at all. Even when she asked for space, he still rushed out of his vehicle to see her before a joint call. She always did the same thing. But today for some reason, all that stopped. He hadn’t even said two words to her all shift either. 

Brett played with her watchband, trying to understand what was going on. The only thing she could think of is that Matt found out she went out to dinner with Granger, and he was ignoring her because of that. Just the thought of that made her blood boil. She had treated him the same when he had gone out with Sydney….well, okay, she technically didn’t know he was going out with Sydney, but she had made the initial effort to regain their friendship the morning she found out. If he wanted to be angry at her for going out with Granger, to a dinner she could barely finish because all she could do was think about Matt, well he could be angry. She wouldn’t let anyone tell him she was not going out with Granger again. Because she knew she still needed to get over Matt before she went out with anyone again.

_________________

All of 51 was eating dinner in the common room with the exception of Casey, who had grabbed his food and retreated back to his quarters. So, Brett was sitting with Kidd and Severide, silently chewing her food while her anger over one Captain Casey grew.

“Hey Brett, what’s up with you today?” Severide asked, catching Kidd glance at him sideways.

Trying to think of an appropriate reply, Brett slowly chewed the food in her mouth before she responded. “Nothing.” She said, forcing a smile. “Just trying to work some things out in my head, that’s all.”

Kidd looked at Severide, both of them immediately knowing that the bad mood that Casey and Brett were in HAD to do with each other. It seemed that lately, they were both either happy or sad at the same time, their moods never diverging. Severide just shrugged his shoulders, making a mental note to talk to Casey later.

Around 10:30pm, when everyone started heading to their bunks to try to catch some shut I, Casey got up to refill his coffee mug. When he walked in the kitchen, he was surprised to see Brett standing there.

“Oh…hey Sylvie. Sorry, didn’t see you there.”

With her arms folded across her chest and her toe tapping, Brett tried to not to explode at Matt over how he was acting. After taking a deep breath, she spoke. “What the hell is going on Matt?”

Casey’s eyes flew back from his coffee cup that was now full of the hot black liquid, immediately finding Brett’s eyes. Sylvie NEVER cussed unless she was really upset. “What do mean Sylvie?”

Searching his face, Sylvie saw he had no clue what she was talking about. That only served to make her more upset.

“Don’t know what I mean Matt?” She said, as quietly but as forcefully as she could. “I mean what has gotten into you today? You have blown me off ALL day! If anyone should be mad, it should be me. First sign of something being hard for you and me and you go jump into another woman’s bed!”

Matt was taken back by her words, but he could see the red in her cheeks as her anger rose. Shaking his head, he tried to figure out why SHE was upset. “Mad? I am not mad at you Brett. I was just trying to give you space since I know you are Granger are together now. And as for, what did you call it, the first sign of something hard between us, I was the one who told you my feelings for you were real which, if I remember correctly, caused you to tell me we could never be a couple and that you needed space. If you were so torn up about “us” Sylvie, then why did you go out with Granger?”

The volume on Matt’s words were increasing, and Sylvie worried about other people hearing them. The last thing she wanted was anyone else at the firehouse knowing about her and Casey, so she decided to shut down this conversation. “For your information, I only accepted Granger’s invitation when I saw YOU move on. But I guess that only proves my point, you definitely aren’t ready to choose me over Gabby or any other woman.”

With those words spoken, Brett spun on her heels, and headed straight towards the solace of her vehicle, leaving Casey standing in the kitchen with his coffee mug, both confused and flabbergasted.

__________________

That night, both Matt and Sylvie tossed in their individual cots, each of their minds replaying their conversation from the kitchen, as well as their time together as friends and whatever else they thought they were becoming. When 7am shift change came, Sylvie didn’t bother changing but instead ran out of 51 to her car, hoping to get home without having to see Casey, or worse yet, Kidd or Severide.

Hanging back to meet the incoming Captain, Casey knew Brett would be gone by the time he left. He wasn’t sure what he did wrong, but it was obvious that Sylvie wanted NOTHING to do with him now, whether it be friendship or anything else. As he got in his truck, he tried to figure out what to do next, but his mind came up blank. The only thing he wanted…no, that wasn’t right. The only thing he NEEDED was Sylvie Brett in his life, in whatever way she would have him.

Instead of heading to back to the loft, Matt drove around Chicago running some errands. While he was doing that, a play crystalized in his head. He knew it probably would not work, but he was damn sure going to try.

Across town, Sylvie laid in her bed, looking at her ceiling. She wasn’t sure why she yelled, or as close to it as she could in a firehouse full of people, but she knew she needed to figure out what was going on. In truth, what she had said to him the other day was the truth. She did miss him in her life. Matthew Casey was one of her best friends, as she didn’t know what she would if she didn’t have him in her life. 

Rolling over for what seemed like the thousandth time, she blew all the air out of her lungs while running her hands through her hair. 

_Maybe I need a spin class,_ she thought. _That way I am too tired to think of anything at all._

___________________

At 6:30pm, Brett drug her tired body into her apartment. She had done not just one, but two spin classes, and then stopped by for Chinese on the way home. At this point, she was not sure she could stay awake long enough to eat and take a shower before she fell asleep. She had just transferred the contents of the little white box to a plate when she heard a knock at her door.

Instantly, she said a quick prayer it wasn’t Kidd, because she wasn’t sure she could handle staying up tonight talking about what an ass Kelly Severide was. When she looked through the peep hole, though, she realized that she said a prayer for the wrong person.

Grudgingly, she opened the door. In her exhaustion, what she said to Matt was nothing but the truth.

“Matt, I am sorry. I am just too tired for this tonight. Can we have whatever fight we are going to have some other time?”

Her words shocked Casey. _Why does she think I want to fight?_ Taking a second to find his mental footing, he caught her gaze. “Sylvie, I don’t want to fight. And if you will give me five minutes of your time, I promise I will leave you alone to rest.”

Letting her head fall to her chest, Sylvie moved to the side, allowing Matt entry into her apartment. Once he was inside, she closed the door before moving back to her table to sit down. 

Gulping, Casey tried to steel his nerves. Sylvie still had on her workout gear, and the way it showed off her body caused his mind to go off in a different direction of what he came here for. Closing his eyes, he tried to find the words to start while he sat the bag he had brought with him on the table.

“Sylvie, I am sorry about the other day…and the other night. I don’t want to fight with you. EVER. You are one of my best friends, and I will take you in my life however I can get you.”

Brett let out a tired smile at Casey’s words. The exact words she was thinking earlier. She was about to respond when Matt put his hand up.

“If it is okay, Sylvie, I want to tell you what I came to say without you interrupting if that is okay?”

Nodding, Sylvie leaned back in her chair, letting her arms come down on each side of her, her hands gripping the seat for what was about to come. Taking a deep breath, Casey continued.

“I am sorry. About everything. I am sorry about last night, and really the entire shift. I am also upset about what happened the night we kissed. Not about the kiss, not that part About what I said. I don’t want Gabby anymore, so I am not really sure why I even answered you the way I did. Most of all, I am sorry I agreed to give you space.”

“Matt….” Sylvie started, before Casey’s pleading eyes forced her mouth shut.

“Sylvie, I went out with Sydney because I was hurt you said we could never happen. I don’t care about her. How could I care about her when I am in love with you? As for Gabby, I can tell you with 1,000% certainty that I don’t want her either. I choose you Sylvie. God, every time I promise I will choose you.”

Brett forgot when she stopped breathing, but she thought it was about the time Matt said he loved her. She tried to force her mouth and brain to work together, but for some reason couldn’t. Instead, her heart beat faster than it had in ages.

“Trust me, I know I am not perfect.” Matt continued. “So, if you want Granger I will be happy for you. But just know Sylvie, I am never giving you space again. I am going to do everything I can to fight for you, to fight for us, right up to the point that you say “I do” with someone else.”

He wasn’t sure what response he was going to get from his speech, the same one he had practiced 20 times today. But Brett sitting at her kitchen table with her mouth hanging open wasn’t the one he hoped for. Taking another breath, he forced out the last thing he needed to say.

“I am going to leave Sylvie, but I want you to have this.” He said, pushing the royal blue gift bag towards the middle of the table. “I am in love with you Sylvie Brett. So, I got you this. And I want you to keep this gift, but I don’t want you to open it until you are ready to give me another chance. And if you do give me another chance, I will give you what's inside personally.”

With that said, Matt turned and walked out of Sylvie’s apartment.

_______________

Sylvie sat there, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that, not only was Matt Casey in love with her, but he had also TOLD her he was. She let her eyes fall to the gift bag, noticing how it had holes punched along the top with ribbon closing it so she couldn’t sneak a peek.

_Of course, Matt knows that it will drive me crazy wondering what he got me!_

But more important than that was the fact that she and Matt had a future together…a real and possible future together, if she wanted it.

 _Of course I want Matt,_ she thought. _I always have._

And in a singular moment of clarity, she knew one other thing as well. She was in love with Matt Casey too.

______________

Any tiredness she had was gone, so Sylvie put her take out in the refrigerator and hopped into the shower, replaying Matt’s words over and over in her head. It was SO unlike him to be this vocal about what he wanted, and all she had done was sat there like a deer in the headlights, not saying a single thing. That was a mistake she planned on correcting tonight, lest Matt wonder if she felt the same way.

As she dried her hair, she glanced over at the gift bag on her kitchen table. 

_Don’t look at it, Sylvie. Don’t look at it,_ she chanted to herself. 

After she was dressed and ready, she grabbed her purse and keys off the kitchen table, knocking the gift bag over as she did. A bag, she noticed that was surprisingly light.

Before she knew what she was doing, she was opening the gift bag, ripping the top of it to get to the contents. When she got to the bottom she found an envelope sitting on top of a jewelry box. For a second, she considered stopping, but her curiosity was already too strong. Opening the envelope, she pulled the note from it and read Matt’s handwriting.

_Sylvie,_

_If you are reading this note, it means you are willing to give us another chance. I can’t tell you how happy I am about this, as you are the ONLY woman I want. However, if you are reading this note without me, it means that you couldn’t stand not knowing what was in the gift bag and opened it without me._

_If second statement is true, I am asking you as nicely as I can (think of me smiling at you) NOT to open the other box and bring it to me to give to you._

_Love,_

_  
Matt_

Sylvie let the letter bounce in her hand, letting the image of Matt smiling at her flood her mind. In an instant, she grabbed the jewelry box and threw it into her purse and was out the door of her apartment. 

___________________

As soon as Brett pulled into the parking spot at Casey’s loft, she wondered if she should have called him first. 

_What if he is at Molly’s and isn’t home?_ She wondered.

Deciding it was too late, she ran up to the building and into the elevator, anxiously tapping her foot at the delay in getting to the man she loved. The man she had probably loved for a couple of years now. The only man she wanted to be with too.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Sylvie ran down the hall to Severide’s door, knocking three times in quick succession. Tapping her foot again, she anxiously waited to see Matt’s face. After a few moments, the door opened and there he was.

Matt’s smile was growing as he saw Sylvie in front on him. He had been worried about her lack of response to his words at her place, but all that went away at the sight of her. When she smiled back at him, he knew instantly that she was it for him. She was the woman he was going to spend the rest of his life loving.

It only took a second of seeing Matt’s smile before Sylvie threw herself at him, her lips finding his waiting for her. Their kiss was full of every emotion they shared, longing, desire, love, acceptance. After a few moments, Sylvie broke the kiss when she became aware of a noise behind Matt. Sneaking her head around his chest, she was surprised to see Kidd and Severide whistling and clapping behind them.

Blushing she looked up at Matt, whose smile had not diminished once she he opened the door. Grabbing his hand, she took him back towards his bedroom, only realizing when she got to the two doors that she didn’t know which one was his. 

“The one at the end of the hall.” He said chuckling.

Sylvie turned the knob and quickly pulled him into his own room before wrapping her arms around his waist. Matt matched her motions, pulling her against his body.

“I love you too, Matt.” She said after a few minutes, her eyes moving up to find his.

Leaning down to kiss her softly, Matt couldn’t hide his excitement. “I am glad Sylvie. Having your love is the best thing that could ever happen to me.”

They stood there, lost in their embrace for a few more moments, before Brett pulled away and opened her purse. Pulling the jewelry box out of her purse, she handed it to him quickly.

“Please take this away from me before I look and see what it is.” She said, shaking her head.

Laughing, Matt took the box from her. “So, I take it you read the note?”

Blushing, Sylvie nodded. “You know me and surprises Matt. I can’t control myself.”

Playing with the gift box in his hands, Matt smiled at her. “I know. I am surprised you didn’t look inside the jewelry box too.”

“I am SO tempted too, which is why you need to take it away from me.” She replied hastily.

Matt looked at the box in his hand, chewing on his lip as he did. He wasn’t sure if what he was about to do was the right thing or not, but he never wanted to hide anything from Sylvie again. Handing the box back to her, he put her hand under her chin, bringing her eyes up to meet him.

“I want you to open it, but after you do I want to tell you something.

Nodding excitedly, Sylvie opened the small box, letting her eyes understand what she was looking at. As her mouth fell open, she looked up at Matt, tears forming in her eyes.

Inside the box was a diamond ring.

“This is not for now, Sylvie. It is for when you are ready. But I wanted you to know that if you gave me another chance, the only one I am wanting you to say “I do” too is me.”

As the tears fell down Sylvie’s cheek, she looked back up at the man she loved. Out of nowhere, she heard her heart speaking for her.

“Yes Matthew Casey. I am ready to marry you.”

__________________

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written based on the Youtube Chicago One Day. During an interview with Jesse and Kara, Jesse makes a comment about a grand gesture, and jokes maybe I should just get you a ring, which caused me to think how he could do it.


End file.
